


Tomorrow Will Be A New Day

by cytoplasmridiculum



Category: Forever (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Forever (TV) - Freeform, Forever ABC, Gen, Lucas Wahl Appreciation Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-04
Updated: 2015-04-04
Packaged: 2018-03-20 09:55:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3645933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cytoplasmridiculum/pseuds/cytoplasmridiculum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucas is having a rough week and run-ins with the wild creatures of New York City.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tomorrow Will Be A New Day

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, idelthoughts, for putting together and organizing this challenge!  
> Thank you, WashingWater, for beta-reading!
> 
> Forever, it's characters, as well as the mentioning of Cones of Dunshire from Parks and Recreation do not belong to me.

Stepping off the busy metro platform Lucas briskly walked towards the city morgue. Checking his phone’s clock, Lucas surmised he would be at least five minutes late at this rate. Lucas increased his walking pace moments before reaching the morgue entrance when suddenly he felt a wet glob atop his head.

“No, no, nooooo!” Lucas cried in frustration. He began to reach for the top of his head but quickly forced his arm back to his side. Hurriedly, he ran to the nearest bathroom in the building.

Lucas sighed when he saw the glaring evidence in the mirror. Pigeon poop.

“I was having such a nice hair day too,” he sadly told his reflection.   _Well, the sink will be easier than the decontamination shower,_ Lucas decided.

After five minutes of hand-soap-suds and lukewarm water, the fowl feces appeared to be washed down the drain. In slight frustration, he attempted to dry his hair with the least absorbent, brown paper towel known to humankind. Sighing, Lucas glanced at his phone to see he was now ten minutes late. The moment he reached the bathroom door it swung open, forcing him to the adjacent tiled wall.

“Hi-uh, good-morning, Dr. Washington.” Lucas greeted him as cheerily as he could from behind the door.

Dr. Washington glanced at Lucas, huffed, and walked farther into the restroom.

 _Wow, not even an apology or good-morning,_ Lucas thought as he hurried out the door. _Someone is a Mister Grumpy Gills_.

Lucas rushed through the automatic doors hair slightly dripping. “ ‘Morning, Doc.” He greeted Henry while quickly hanging up his metrocard lanyard. Henry gave his assistant ME a puzzled look. Lucas could feel his boss putting the pieces together, calculating every move Lucas likely made before arriving here.

“A mishap with a pigeon, I presume,” Henry stated rather than questioned.

“Yeah, how could you tell?” Lucas was only slightly surprised.

“Given the fecal spray on your shoulder,” Henry nodded towards Lucas, “your wet hair, and dodging the entry myself this morning. The flock of pigeons were the most probable cause.”

Lucas tugged on his scrub shirt sleeve. “Aw _maaan_! This was my favorite...” Lucas grumbled quietly to himself as he grabbed a new shirt from his locker.   Henry looked at him with sympathy.

“Pigeons! They’re like flying ferrets!” Lucas complained.

“Flying _ferrets_? Are they not normally associated with rats?”  Henry questioned.

“Yeah, _normally_ , but that would be an insult to rats. _Ferrets_ , on the other hand, poop everywhere and destroy your stuff.” Lucas argued.

“Given your appreciation for rats, I understand. Now, as a reminder, Lucas, the morgue recertification audit is in a month. I am counting on your assistance through the process.” Henry smiled.

“You got it, boss!”

“Now, would you prepare our latest John Doe.”

****

As the morning progressed, Lucas managed to trip while wheeling a body, almost knocked over another victim's stomach contents, and broke two scalpel blades.

“Turning out to be one of those days…” Lucas whispered to himself.

His stomach growled reminding him of the lunch plans he had with his newest acquaintance from his favorite gaming and novel store. He cleaned up the area to prepare it for the newest body. Lucas quickly glanced at his phone and gave a slight frown. Lucas’ friend had notified him that he would not make it to lunch today. _Well, maybe next time!_ Lucas thought, attempting to stay peppy.

After a walk to the deli and setting up in the break room with his latest graphic novel issue, Lucas noticed a strange taste in his mouth. His face contorted, eyes squinted, mouth twisting open and shut as heat radiated across his taste buds. Half a soda tin later his mouth was soothed. Lucas peeked inside his sandwich. _Yep, of course_ , he groaned internally. _They used the extra spicy mustard. Ugh._ He stared at the vending machine. “We’re going to need a bigger can.”

***

Stomach uncomfortably bubbly, Lucas reviewed Quality Control and body retrieval logs.

“Ah, Lucas, is everything in order?” Henry walked into the morgue, stopping by Lucas’ station area.

“Uh-hiya, boss.” Lucas looked up, his mind still on the task. “Yeah, it looks like all the paperwork and QC logs are all here. Still have to look through one more binder.”

“Excellent, and you remembered to organize the forms by month?”

“Uuhhh..” Lucas immediately paged through the binder section.

Henry eyed him with impatience. “Lucas, please insure everything is in the _correct_ order.”

“Yep, will do, Doc!” Lucas replied as Henry moved towards his office. Lucas scanned the stacks of binders around him. _Why did I volunteer to do this?_

***

Lucas’ shift ended with three binders remaining to reorganize. As he exited the building, he almost forgot about the pigeons, he ducked to the side searching up and around for the criminal birds.

Lucas arrived home drained. He hung up his keys and lanyard while dropping his bag on the ground near the door. There was no motivation or energy available for any more organization than that.

He grabbed a beer and pizza leftovers from the fridge and then plopped down on the couch. Today was a day where his guilty pleasure movies, such as “Mean Girls”, would not be sufficient.

Looking through his vast DVD collection, Lucas grabbed “Army of Darkness”. The ending to this day required mindless horror and viscera that only a “B rated” horror, and hunky Bruce Campbell, movie could provide.

***

The next morning Lucas swore to himself it would be a better day. He left for work early, avoided the plethora of pigeons at the entrance, and brought a bagged lunch should his new lunch plans not work out.

He began this morning by diligently organizing paperwork for the morgue audit. As Lucas opened the last binder Henry made an uncommon announcement.

“Attention, everyone.” Henry announced. Everyone in the morgue gathered in a semicircle in front of Henry. “I just received a call about a high casualty boating accident.” Surprise andshock was displayed on everyone’s faces. “Since this is a large scale event, protocol mandates four hour shifts on and off duty. I will need a quarter of the group to remain here to care for dutiesunrelated to this case. Everyone else will be needed on scene. Please grab your examination kits and prepare for departure.” The concern was almost palpable as the group dispersed.

Lucas slammed the binder shut with excitement when Henry approached him. “All hands on deck kind of situation, eh?” Lucas said with a small chuckle.

Henry responded with an unapproving glare.“Lucas, you and I were requested to work with Detectives Martinez and Hanson. Please grab extra supplies for your kit and be ready to depart in exactly eight minutes.” He was about to turn away from Lucas when he pivoted back to address him once more. “And please remember to remain professional. There will likely be lots of pretty reporters.” Hands behind his back, Henry eyed Lucas sternly.

“Don’t worry about me, boss! My lips are sealed.” Lucas said,  motioning a zipper closing across his lips.

Henry replied with a small frown and a look of slight disbelief before stepping towards his office.

***

The crime scene on the river bank teemed with bustling reporters, police on guard, crime scene tape, and rescue team vehicles. The diving rescue team had retrieved five bodies from the murky depths by the time they arrived.

 _Oh jeez…_ Lucas thought as he pulled out his gear and equipment. _It’s going to be a_ looong _week._

Lucas was part way through his first examination when Henry carefully sprinted across the wet beach away from Lucas and the victim to examine debris from the wreckage. From Lucas’ location, he could barely see Henry near the water.

“Henry! Get down from there!” Jo hissed from afar, reprimanding Henry. “Put your shoes back on!”

Lucas craned his neck towards the sound. From what he could gather, Henry likely was scaling a rocky area at the water’s edge. _Huh, and he asked_ me _to keep it professional._

“Hope Lt. Reece doesn't find any pictures of that” Lucas said under his breath as he zipped up the man in a body bag.

“Lucas!” Henry yelled from beyond the shoreline. “Bring an evidence bag and some fresh gloves!”

***

Back at the lab, Henry was engrossed with an insulin pump.

“The captain of the vessel had type one diabetes. His medical records and blood tests should confirm this shortly.” Henry informed Detectives Martinez and Hanson.

“You got all that without an autopsy?” Hanson asked, in awe.

“It’s very clear to see. There are signs of minor nerve damage on his extremities. Observe the scar tissue in the fatty areas of the body: his stomach, buttocks, thighs, and arms show signs of constant injections. I’d say he was diagnosed around the age of four.”

“His urine also smells a little sugary!” Lucas piped in. Both detectives wrinkled their noses with mouths agape in shock and disgust.

“Yes, the sugary urine leads me to my next observation. Here on his left lumbar region there is a fresh puncture in the skin. The evidence leads me to believe it was _his_ insulin pump found near the shoreline instead of on his person.”

“Wait, so why wasn’t the pump on him?” Jo asked.

“Precisely my thoughts.” Henry licked his lower lip before continuing.  “To add to the matter, his urine should _not_ have such a high concentration of sugars. Insulin is created by the beta cells in the pancreas, beta cells are--”

“Henry, could you please save the cell biology lecture for later?” Hanson interrupted.

“Yes, of course. Basically, insulin binds to specific receptors on the outside of cells to allow for the uptake of sugar.” Henry explained.

“I am the Keymaster are you the Gatekeeper?” Lucas asked in an eerie voice. Hanson chuckled at the quote, Jo seemed confused, and Henry annoyed. “Translation: insulin is a key to unlock a channel in the cells and then sugar waltzes on in.”

“For this man, there was no _waltzing_ involved. If the captain’s insulin pump was working correctly his body would have used the sugar instead of secreting it. His blood sugar levels were likely high, he became delirious, weak, and collapsed which caused the yacht to crash into the rocks.” Henry finished.

“I’m beginning to think this was not an accident.” Jo stated.

“I’ll examine his insulin cartridge and compare its composition to what is recovered from the wreckage. His blood results should be able to tell us more.”

The morgue doors opened and both detectives stood at attention. Both Henry and Lucas turned to see who could demand such a response. Lt. Reece approached Henry.

“Dr. Morgan, Detectives, Lucas” she greeted more sternly than usual, “several of the victims in the yacht case were related to or had some connection to higher ups, including my boss.” In this silent moment Lucas reminded himself it was not the time to make any comments. “This case is top priority and needs to be solved quickly.” Lips pursed, she made eye contact with each of them.

Henry gave Lt. Reece the abridged hypothesis with inputs from Jo and Hanson.  “Rest assured, Lieutenant, the entire morgue is dedicated to the case.” He responded with a reassuring smile.

“Good, keep me updated.” As she turned to leave, Lucas blurted out, “See ya later Lieutenant!” with a slight awkward wave goodbye.

Reece gracefully rotated to face Lucas. “Good-bye, Lucas. Stay out of trouble.”

Lucas turned back to the group, as they returned to discussing their next steps in the case.

***

“Well Doc,” Lucas said tiredly, “I will see you in four hours to continue with our autopsy extravaganza.”

“I would hardly call this tragedy an ‘extravaganza’.” Henry huffed with slight annoyance.

Lucas felt slightly abashed. “Oo, yeah, you’re right. Well, I’ll be back for our, uh,  mourning parade soon.”

Henry replied with an impatient head tilt. “ _Good-night_ , Lucas.”

As Lucas left, he texted his friend the name of the cafe they would meet at. Lucas’ friend was seated when he arrived.

“Hiya, Chuck!” Lucas greeted as he slid onto the wooden chair.

Chuck smiled in return. “Tell me about the newest games you've found.”

The two ordered wings and chatted about tabletop games and their days. Chuck worked part-time at the gaming store near by and he was always on the look out for a new display game.  The best way Lucas could describe his friend was an unexpected older hipster always in flannel shirt and always a black, flat, old cabbie hat. He was always friendly and could listen to Lucas babble for hours.

Lucas peaked at his phone. “Well, I need to leave soon to shower before heading back to work.” he said with a sigh.

“Oh? Back to work?” Chuck replied with concern.

“Yeah, you heard about that huge yacht accident right?” Chuck nodded. “Well, it has us all on four hour shifts. It’s going to be a _looong_ week.” He took a quick sip of his water.

“Sounds like it. So, you’re all on four hour shifts?” Chuck inquired.

“Yep, The _entire_ morgue! I’m pretty lucky though, I have the same shifts as my boss.” Lucas spoke with a visible glow.

“Ah, he’s the special guy” Chuck teased.

Lucas smiled blushing slightly. “Yeah, well, I just admire him more than Guillermo del Toro.” He looked down at his drink and back up to Chuck. “He brought me into his morgue and took a chance on me. He gave me this great opportunity and I just want to show I was worth the risk, ya know?”

Chuck smiled and nodded in a knowing way.

“Well,” Lucas hit the wooden table lightly, “I gotta get going. The rat pack isn't going to feed itself.” He laughed, followed with an uncertain, “hopefully.”

They both paid their bills and before departing, Chuck lightly grabbed his upper arm. Holding Lucas’ gaze, “Keep in touch, Lucas.”

“Yeah, you too man, have a good one.” He smiled back, slightly unsure. _Wow, that was… intense._

 

Lucas made it halfway down the block before he realized he forgot to leave a tip.  He jogged back, threw a few dollars on his table, and not so subtly sauntered out.

***

Lucas arrived at the morgue unsullied by any creature. While Lucas prepared his station he glanced over at Henry’s office to see him on the phone. The concern and strain on his face was foreign to Lucas. Henry hung up the phone and braced his desk head hung down. The unguarded glimpse of his boss lasted less than five seconds. Henry promptly regained his posture and donned his usual determined demeanor

Lucas instantly peered down at his tools before Henry left his office. Lucas eagerly flung his head up at Henry as he grabbed hit apron. “How was your shift off?”

“Ah, fine, Lucas, thank you.” Henry answered politely.

“Mine was pretty good. I got dinner with a friend. The wings were decent. Oh! I told him about this cool new game recently released. It’s a tabletop game. Not like Cones of Dun--”

“Lucas, could you please file the latest biohazard disposal logs, before we get started. Please.” Henry interjected through almost gritted teeth.

“Right-o, you got it, boss!”

Lucas returned pleased with his new organizational efforts. Henry appeared to be having a stare-down with the latest reports. “My god, it’s _not insulin_. It’s _sugar_! I was missing something...”

“What’s sugar?” Lucas inquired.

“The insulin cartridge was not filled with insulin as it should be but a sugar solution. It was designed to have the same density as insulin in order for it to flow through the pump.” Henry was shocked and excited at the same time.

“Wouldn't that mean…” Lucas trailed off, in awe and admiration.

“Yes, Lucas, this man was _murdered_.”

***

Henry hurriedly made phone calls to Jo and Lt. Reece.

Lucas just finished the logs when Henry returned.

“The divers and search team have not retrieved the captain’s insulin cartridges. Jo and I learned he kept the cartridges in a light, weatherproof case that could also be refrigerated. This leads me to believe the case is still near the crime scene.” Henry lightly bit his lower lip and turned his head in contemplation. “This doesn't leave us much time, if any! Insulin degrades with extreme temperatures…”  He turned towards Lucas with a grin. “I think it’s time we find it ourselves.”

***

Lucas stopped the morgue van ten feet from the crime scene tape. After speaking with Jo, Henry returned Lucas’ cellphone to him. Lucas gathered that Henry promised they would stay in the van and wait for her and Detective Hanson to arrive. Knowing Henry’s history, this would always be a broken promise.

Using a flashlight as a guide, Henry combed through the rocky areas near the beach. “If the killer threw it off the ship it must be near here somewhere…” He mumbled in frustration.

Lucas glanced along the coast and paused to think. _Well, if I were a killer and thought I would get away with it, I’d make it look like an accident. But where would I toss insulin?_

Lucas began to search away from the beach in hopes of an answer. After a few minutes of walking he encountered a dumpster. _Aha!_ He thought. Putting on a set of fresh examination gloves, Lucas lifted the lid of the dumpster. “Oh, gross! This hasn't been emptied in _days!_ ” He shined the flashlight into the dumpster. “We need to go deeper.” Lucas attempted his best DiCaprio impression. He climbed into the dumpster with some disgust, hearing the squishing beneath his shoes. Lucas rustled through papers, spoiled food, and broken beach toys when he heard a scratching sound.

Lucas paused. “I’m not alone…” he whispered in fear. He waved the flashlight widely inside the dumpster when a yellow gleam reflected back.

“Hey buddy, I’m not going to hurt you.” Lucas spoke gently to the darkness. The animal omitted a deep, full-body growl. Lucas tried to move away but slipped towards the sound.  “Oh shi-”

The clawed creature lunged, thrashing at Lucas' sweater sleeve and snarling. Lucas began shouting loudly and flailing in panic.

 

Henry could hear an echo of Lucas’ distressed calls. “Lucas! Where are you?” He rushed towards the noise.  Jo had just parked her vehicle next to the van when Henry sprinted past.

“Henry, where are you going?” She shouted after him. She grabbed her sidearm and ran after him.

As Lucas was losing to what he assumed was a small hell hound, he desperately grabbed for anything around him to put distance between the nightmare and himself. Lucas grabbed the handle of a small case and hit the case against the metal walls loudly. The creature stopped and backed off. He gripped the case with his right hand and with his left shot out of the dumpster. Panting on the ground, Lucas opened the case that had saved him.  He pulled out a box, squinting to read the writing in the dim light. _Huh, I think that says-_

“Lucas!” Henry breathed heavily in relief. “What happened? Are you alright?”  He knelt on the ground to examine Lucas as Jo shined a light on the pair.

“I was attacked by some small furry hell hound!” He accounted, still trying to catch his breathe.

“What were you doing so far from the crime scene?” Henry slightly scolded.

“Well, I was thinking about what _I_ would do if I was the killer, so I put myself in those shoes, metaphorically speaking, and went in search for a dump area. I found this dumpster and decided, hey! this would be a great spot to throw things away. And it smelled bad so I knew it had been days since it was last emptied. Then I climbed inside-”

“You climbed _inside_ a dark dumpster?” Jo interrupted.

“Well yeah, I had to find-”

“What’s that in your hand?” Henry asked, grabbing the box from his hand. He lifted it towards to light and read, “Insulin, this is it! Lucas, this is some of your best work.” Henry congratulated Lucas, with a beautiful grin. Henry grabbed Lucas’ left arm to lift him from the ground.

“Ow, ow, ow” Lucas softly hissed.

Henry gingerly examined Lucas’ forearm. “This looks like thin claw marks, not a cat but perhaps, raccoon?” On cue, they heard scurrying sounds in the dumpster. Jo lifted the lid as Henry peaked inside. “Aha! _Procyon lotor_ , also known as the North American raccoon, not a hell hound. Although, as a doctor I recommend a rabies vaccination and a broad spectrum antibiotic cream for the scratches”.

***

In the morgue, Henry determined the insulin cartridges were switched out with the sugar solution vials.

“It would have taken a skilled chemist, perhaps someone in chemical engineering, to concoct this seemingly innocuous solution.” Henry stared at the vial, admiring its composition.

“I’ll cross reference the passenger and crew lists with any known chemistry background. I’ll call you when I've narrowed down the list.” Jo remarked.

“Thank you, Detective.” Henry replied glancing towards her and back to the vial. “I’m going to test this in both the gas chromatograph and the NMR spec to see what else can be revealed about the solutions composition.” He continued to be mesmerized by it.

“Translation, both machines can help give us a key to map out what’s in the solution. It’s like an atomic puzzle.”  Lucas explained.

Jo gave a slight chuckle before departing. “Science boys and their toys”.

***

The night ended with an arrest and several closed cases. Lucas smiled to himself on the metro train home. He found the crucial evidence needed to close the case _and_ he finished gathering all the paperwork _weeks_ before the audit. Days like these reminded Lucas of how far he’d come. His disastrous beer garden and failed film career all lead him here to become an artisan of death.

 

Lucas reached the main doors to his apartment complex. _I, Lucas Wahl, helped solve a huge case. It’s all looking up from here-_

A wet glob landed on his hand as he reached for the door handle. Lucas heard a _coo_ and looked up with a disgusted face.

“In some cases it’s best _not_ to look up.” He grumbled.

But tomorrow was a new day and Lucas knew he’d try his best.

 


End file.
